old trials fanatic

,"Machine eligibilty is left to the discretion of the event organiser,however machines allowed must be clearly stated on the entry form or any supplementary regulations issued for each event." Thanks for that John. So does seem to leave it wide open for exploitation at AMCA events. Think one of those air cooled monoshocks converted to twinshock would be best for AMCA events then. Perhaps i should reconsider one? Thats said tongue in cheek BTW for the more sensitive viewers BJ thanks for your posting "Interesting article in this months Classic Dirt Bike by Alan Wright about fiddle Pre65 and how it has become a rich man's sport (which it has really) Its a pity we couldn't have original Pre65 make a return." Makes me wonder though which bike i would have to choose to be competitive if that ever happened ? Personally would sooner ride a modern in the over 50 class but thats me. Never ridden an "original Pre65" that i wanted to ride ever again but whatever floats your boat. Does seem to be a bit strange that a "governing body" lets each club decide on what is elegable or not. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and finger pointing to me. Perhaps for once we should applaud the ACU for making an effort however ill thought out. Thanks again guys

My reason for posting this is because i am confused as to the differences on rules for Trials between the ACU and the AMCA. Now every year the ACU publish a handbook which is sort of clear, actually some of it is very badly unthought out but at least it's something, with regards to the rules of the sport and the construction of the bikes especially the Classic Pre65 and Twinshocks. However after trawling the AMCA website, because i have never seen an AMCA handbook and neither has anybody else i have asked, i cant find any "rules". Now i know the ACU clubs use the front wheel spindle as the "marker" for being in or out of the section whereas the AMCA seem to use front wheel in rear wheel out, well most of the AMCA Trials i have ridden in have, as a "marker". As for machine rules and regs are there ANY for the AMCA??? Reason i am asking re the machine construction is recently at an AMCA trial i noticed a Suzuki RL competing with disc brakes front and rear along with an hydraulic clutch. Now i know this is against the ACU rules, although some ACU clubs seem to turn a blind eye to them, but is it against the rules applying to AMCA Trials ????? Surely it's a big unfair advantage having disc front and rear brakes along with the hydraulic clutch. Cant be fair on the guys riding Twinshocks who got beaten by what at an ACU trial would be an inelegable bike can it ? I know if the bike in question turned up at my club, an ACU affiliated one, i would allow him to ride but would exclude him from the results due to him riding an ineligable machine. Just wondered what the rules say for AMCA clubs as if disc front and rear are "legal" along with the hydraulic clutch, have seen a Trigreeves also with an hydraulic clutch also competing regularly and winning championships at AMCA events, then perhaps it's worth a trip to the local breakers to pick up a modern front end and rear wheel ? Anybody know if there are any rules and regs for AMCA then ??

Just talking about the same issue today with a mate. Must agree the std footrest position on the Bultaco does feel a bit high if you are used to modern trials bikes and dont see a problem with repositioning them where you like. However surely they cant be any lower than the bash plate cos that would be der silly !!! The other benifit of course is you could get rid of those orrible Bultaco footrests and fit some proper ones. Obviously need new brackets welding on but thats no big deal.

Marzocchi inners with Norton sliders machined to fit over machined Marzocchi sliders - Pre 65 ? Acceptable for the Scottish though We'll start Woody off !

Hard to give a categorical answer. The best thing to do is speak to the trials secretary for the Club whose event you want to ride in. They will put you right. What i can say is you've no chance of competing in the Scottish Pre65 but that may not concern you anyway. You will probably be alright till you start winning then the protests will more than likely surface. Funny how people talk behind your back Good luck with your project. The more Pre65 bikes there are competeing the better in my book.

I remember Ernie and i remember riding at your place with Pennine Eagles and i even remember riding with you a very much younger Pete Carson, david Housley and all the Oakleys plus many many others LOL strange thing is i'm riding better now than i did then, only took nearly 40 years , then again it's probably more down to grippy tyres than a revelation on my part. Good report Andy. Just wanted to add that while we are remembering people i would just like to mention Ged Speed who is very ill at the moment. Ged is a very active somethingyearold and has been a part of the local trials scene for some considerable time and helped with course setting for Dales Classic along with many other local clubs. Me and Ged have had our differences in the past but i can only sincerely wish him well and hope to see him again soon at a Trial. My and i'm sure all the Dales Classic Club members have him in our thoughts at this difficult time. Thanks Andy, had to have a dab on your section didnt i , and i hope you dont mind me hijacking the thread to mention Ged.

41 riders took part in the Peak Classic Trials Clubs event on Sunday 25th July held at Waynes farm Ible near Matlock Derbyshire which was round 6 of the clubs 2010 championship. The course setter Darren Walker had laid out a comprehensive course consisting of sinuous turns around the trees along the steep banking then moving onto the rocks tree roots and mud mud mud lining the gully that runs along the bottom of the fields leading back to the start. After the prolonged dry spell of late some of the riders were surprised at the amount of glutinous mud which made the second half of the lap very tricky so say the least with the sections becoming very difficult after the first lap. This was why the club secretary Martin Booth decided to make the event 4 laps instead of the usual 5. Good call Martin. Sadly again the British bike classes were poorly supported with only two entries in the Expert and 50/50 categories and three in the Clubman class. The club would definitely like to see some more entries from the local British bike lads so lets hope for a few more Classic British Bikes next time out at Edensfield on the 29th August. Comiserations to the 9 retirees it was a tough one. As always the Club would like to thank the landowners, course setters and of course the observers. Expert British Bike 1st Peter Carson James 21 marks 2nd Darren Cooper James 31 marks Expert Twinshock 1st Chris Garlick Fantic 5 marks 2nd Stephen Bisby OSSA 21 marks 3rd Stephen Garlick Armstrong 23 marks Expert Air cooled Monoshock 1st Lawrence Wright Yamaha 23 marks 2nd Andrew Land Yamaha 30 marks 50/50 British Bikes 1st Geff Gadsby BSA 42 marks 2nd Derek Carson BSA 48 marks 50/50 Twinshock 1st Gary Parr Aprilia 12 marks 2nd Michael Houghton Honda 36 marks 3rd Anthony Sprinks Bultaco 37 marks Clubman British Bikes 1st Graham Lyons BSA 16 marks 2nd Rob Goodwin Francis Barnet 36 marks 3rd Vincent Price Royal Enfield 41 marks Clubman Twinshock 1st Martin Booth Yamaha 29 marks 2nd Philip Green Suzuki 33 marks 3rd Neil Croston Fantic 36 marks Clubman Air Cooled Monoshock 1st Robert Wright Yamaha 40 marks 2nd Peter Guslov Yamaha 52 marks

Just a quick update. Done 600 miles and had my first problem Power steering pump ran out of oil because some numpty didnt tighten the pipe properly to the pump. Had to drive home without any power steering which wasnt too bad till you had to make a 90 deg right or left turn then you needed BIG and i mean BIG muscles. Anyway called Mercedes and they sent a technician round who arrived within the hour tightened the offending gland nut, "you know i've never ever come across this before sir", refilled the pump reservoir and bid me farewell. Dont know if i'm happy about the reesponse to my problem, which was excellent, or really annoyed about the loose gland nut which in my opinion should NEVER happen with any marque and especially NOT on a Mercedes. Oh well onwards and upwards

Wulfsport do some. I have a pair and they are very popular around these parts especially amongst the older members of our clubs. Dont know if theres a US distributor but might be worth a try. If you pm me i can give you a website address. Not sure about Andys policy on advertising other sites so i wont post it here.

Are you sure the bottom end is 9E ? as i have three of those engines in the shed and they all have the barrel at a slight forward angle not upright as yours is. Might be wrong but it just caught my eye.

Looks really nice to me. If you like blue then why not ? Are you going to use it and ignore the rivet counters ?

Picked it up today, sorry not the V6 , just a 95bhp bog std one. Going to get it chipped though at some point. Only done a few miles so far but the van seems so much better put together and soooooo much more solid than the Primastar did. the gearchange is a revelation too as this feels connected by girders to the gearbox not like the Primastar which felt more like a computer joystick that sometimes found the gear you wanted but just never really felt "right" more liek stirring porrage. Does feel very high driving position. Less carlike and more like a bus LOL. Like it though. Feels like it's built to last unlike the Nissan/Vauxhall/Renault which is definately a disposable commodity. Will let you all know if it goes bang, fingers crossed it wont, but i am happy with my purchase so far. Thanks again to everybody who gave their advice / experiences.

OK Charlie thanks for the explanation but i havent got the foggiest what tyres GOV132 or even what pertains to be GOV132 has fitted but whatever trials tyre they are i wouldnt view it any differently. Good luck to Pat but personally i still dont see the problem. Then again you know me i think Trials Bikes should be ridden. Another saying comes to mind, and before anybody spits their dummy yes you all know who you are, "if you cant build it right build it bright" and i've seen a few of them in my time. Anyway as i said good luck to Pat if thats what floats his boat and good luck with the show. I was chatting to Mick about it and Lee's session just the other day. Good luck mate

Sorry but i've got to ask. Why oh why would anybody want to make a tyre as bad as the Dunlop trials universal? Most current tyres look pretty much like the bakalite Trials Loonyversal but thank heavens at least the ones currently available all work to a greater or lesser degree. there's nothing currently available thats as bad as what we had way back then.

Well finally taken the plunge and ordered me new van. Pick it up a week on Tuesday. Merceedes sprinter med w/b std roof. Fingers crossed that this one will be reliable. Well the Merceedes reputation is good isnt it ?

Well firstly thanks to everybody who profered their opinions / experiences. After taking a test drive in my short list i tried one other not on the list and have now revised my chosen van to either a Transit, yes i know but it is good value for money, or a Merceedes Sprinter. If i can run to it then it will be the Sprinter as it just ticked all the boxes. I realised i need more head room and load space than the VW, Toyota or the Vito could give me. Will let you know next week if i have been able to do a deal on one. If not it will be the Transit and a copy of the Sun LOL.

June 20th Fathers Day and some dads had a real present with Dudwood farm being dry for a change giving the course setters a challenge to set a course that was worthy of the entry but not too challenging to make Fathers day a day to remember for the wrong reasons. Overall most of the field of 43 riders had a good day so hopefully we got it right. Somebody who had an excellent ride was the Landowner himself Barry Burton riding his James in his own back yard to take the win in the Expert British Bike class with a loss of just 14 marks. Seven of those lost on arguably the most difficult section of the day section 6. A simple enough section around some rocks but with a tight off camber turn in the middle which, surprisingly for the course plotter Paul Beswick, became very slippery taking marks from the whole entry. The whole entry that is apart from Chris Garlick who though he remained clean on the days hardest section still only managed to finish second in the Expert Twinshock Class which was won by his brother Stephen losing just 6 marks. The Club is considering a few changes for next year and decided to try one of those changes out namely an additional two sections just for Expert Twinshock and Air cooled monoshocks only. The entries in the British Bike classes have been disappointing of late and the club is actively trying to reverse this trend and will be trying our best to encourage more riders to come and take part. Speaking of Pre65 entries Barry Micklethwaite had a good ride to win the 50/50 British Bike route for a loss of only 26 well done Barry. Finally the Clubman British Bike class was won by Graham Lyons by the narrowest of margins on 28 marks from Vincent Price on 29 marks. The reason the result was closer than graham may have thought was that somehow he totally missed section 1 every lap which cost him 25 marks. OOOPS Graham. As always the club would like to thank the landowner Barry Burton for allowing us to ride in his back garden and also the observers for being there so we could all have such a great day out in the beautiful Peak District. For full details of the Club Championship standings , events calendar and details of how to find our venues check out the club website at www.peakclassic.co.uk Results Expert British Bike 1st Barry Burton James 14 marks Expert Twinshock 1st Stephen Garlick Armstrong 6 marks 2nd Chris Garlick Fantic 9 marks 3rd Chris Slack Fantic 11marks Expert Air Cooled Monoshock 1st Lawrence Wright Yamaha 15 marks 2nd Dale Shaw Gas Gas 30 marks 3rd Mark Weston Gas Gas 37 marks 50/50 British Bike 1st Barry Micklethwaite Francis Barnett 26 marks 2nd Derek Carson James 32 marks 3rd Tony Peat Triumph Cub 48 marks 50/50 Air Ccooled Monoshock 1st Ian Bend Fantic 31 marks 50/50 Twinshock 1st Michael Houghton Honda 10 marks 2nd Gary Parr Aprillia 18 marks 3rd Paul Edwards Montesa 23 marks Clubman British Bike 1st Graham Lyons Bantam 28 marks 2nd Vincent Price Royal Enfield 29 marks 3rd Rob Goodwin Francis Barnett 53 marks Clubman Twinshock 1st Martin Booth Yamaha 14 marks 2nd Paul Beswick OSSA 19 marks 3rd John Morley Honda 19 marks Clubman Air Cooled Monoshock 1st Robert Wright Yamaha 33 marks 2nd Peter Guslov Yamaha 56 marks 3rd Roger Woesley Fantic 76 marks

Thanks for that. To tell the truth i was quite enjoying driving the Primastar but i've had some electrical issues, well i assume they are electrical because the garage charged me for 3 hours labour messing about with the wiring unpluging this and that but couldnt find anything, with the dashboard lighting up like a christmas tree then the engine cutting out. Seems ok at the moment following the trip to the garage but i just dont trust it anymore especially as the garage couldnt find anything specifically wrong. Just seems like time to get rid and buy something more more reliable but the question is what? Take on board your comments and i have a test drive booked next week in a Vito and a Hiace but all a test drive tells you is what it's like to drive not what it's like to live with which is why i am asking for peoples experiances. Thanks very much for your input though. appreciate it.

Currently running a Nissan Primastar but i am looking to change in the next few weeks and have narrowed it down to the following. Transit Toyota Hiace VW T5 Mercedes Vito Did look at the Renault, Vauxhall, Nissan vans (all the same as mine just badge engineered) but have heard some bad reports. Considered the Citroen, Fiat, Peugeot but again heard of reliability problems. So what experience has everybody had especially with the four i prefer? I am open to other suggestions but i need a proper sized van as it's not used just for carrying the bike, sometimes 3 bikes, but also to tow a burger van and shift stuff / rubbish etc. I also like the idea of having somewhere to get changed without bending over especially when it's wet or snowing. Would like to get reasonable fuel economy too, obviously, and be able to cruise at 70 - 80 on the motorway. Oh yes need 3 front seats. I am looking for something under 20K miles and under 2 years old as i intend keeping the van for a few years. SO panel what would you advise ?

Not running a Marcelle barrel just a Greeves alloy square one but if it's any help i am using an Amal Mk 1.5 27mm bore and use a 2 slide and a 120 main jet. Cant remember if i changed the pilot or not sorry and the bike is at the back of the shed buried at the moment so i cant strip the carb to check. It does sound as if the float may be at fault as i dont know anybody else who is running a 4 slide and still finding it rich ? Weird. If i was you i would borrow another carb off somebody and try it with that on.

Finally got around to getting the old 199B 340 Sherpa running again. Trying desperately to sort out the "projects" worth persevering with and getting rid of everything else. So fitted the new VM28 carb thats been sitting in the draw for the past 18 months but the carburation just seems a bit off. The carb has been jetted to suit a 340 199B but thats always a bit of a guess so i'm wondering if anybody has fitted a VM 28 and got it running spot on and if so what jets they are using. From memory the jets in it are as follows Main 130 Pilot 35 Needle jet N8 Needle 5DPJ i think Slide is 2.5 The pilot feels a bit too lean especially as the only way i can get it to be anywhere near is with the airscrew 1/4 turn out, not much of an adjustment is it?, plus the off idle feels a bit iffy too. Think it may need a 2 slide but before i go spending money i dont have much of at the moment I would like to know what other people are using. Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks for that Javier. Oh well of the "Matlock Mafia" only Mark Hallows managed a finish on 30. Will get the lowdown on "what went wrong" at the weekend i expect. Hopefully one year, work finances and err indoors permitting, i will be able to ride ? Well done one and all.

Are the results posted anywhere? Would have liked to find out how a couple of friends have done before they get back?

I'm a fire starter. Twisted fire starter. woo woo woo woo Oh sorry thats Prodigy not Prodigal Been out riding today with the man himself and i fell orf but thats another story

Might not be relevant but every Bultaco i've had was a bu66er to get into neutral due to chutch drag. It is a fault with Bultacos and needs very very very careful adjustment and set up of the clutch plates, spring tension, oil etc etc to eliminate. Alegedly the new plates from Bultaco UK help but havent tried yet so cant say.